Patriarch Kirill: I’m ready to walk anywhere if only to preclude schism
According to the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, today we are facing the gravest violation ever of the canons, and this fact should not be silenced.
On October 30, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus answered questions from participants in the 8th International Festival of Orthodox Media “Faith and Word”, and the first question was about the situation in Ukraine, reports Prichod.ru.
Patriarch Kirill noted that schism had crossed the borders of Ukraine.
“The Patriarch of Constantinople, transcending all the canons that govern the relations between the Churches, invades our land, our Church,” he said.
The Primate stressed that this is an innovation of the last decades – to vest Constantinople with the powers it has never had: “The Patriarch of Constantinople has no canonical authority to consider an appeal from the metropolitans of other Orthodox Churches.”
His Holiness shared with journalists that he is very worried about all these developments, since he has known Patriarch Bartholomew for a long time – since 1977, “we have written texts together with him”.
The Primate also said he wanted to schedule a meeting with the Ecumenical Patriarch on the neutral territory but he was denied this with a note that the meeting was possible only in Istanbul, and then many, seeing this as humiliation, began to dissuade him from this trip.
“But I am ready to go on foot anywhere, just to prevent the development of events we are facing today,” he stressed, adding that it is impossible to silence the situation that has developed today in the World Orthodoxy.
“If we keep silent, we will create a precedent,” concluded Patriarch Kirill. “Today we are dealing with a gross violation of the canons.”
As the UOJ reported, at a meeting with representatives of the church media community, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church particularly emphasized the responsibility of the Orthodox media, since the word of a journalist is often more widespread than that of a priest.
